SwimmerMike 

The funniest comment I've heard was when I was on my Colnago out of the saddle passing a group that were on CF bikes going up a steep rise. I heard "He must be on an e-bike". I was wondering where they thought I had put the battery.

MeadMan2

I've had a few positive comments on my Merxx but one guy was blown away and asked to take a picture of my 1924 Mead Ranger.

Lattz

Who wouldn't be blown away by even a bottle opener almost 100 year old... and don't start on todays teenagers...

SJX426 

Several months ago, I was on my usual route on the De Rosa. In the middle of Fredericksburg on Queen Anne, a guy pulled up next to me in his car and just couldn't get over how it was great classic old bike was out and about. Almost started a conversation while traffic piled up behind him.
P1050321 on Flickr

Back in 2017 while commuting on the Pinarello, I was on the road from 15th that empties onto 395 by the Jefferson Monumnet, when a car speeding around the turn slowed down and gave me the thumbs up and said " beautiful bike!" with a big smile. I was afraid he was going to crash while merging with 395 traffic.
P1020207 on Flickr

Thread needed pictures!

I think people often can't get past the aesthetics to identify details they don't understand, like DT shifters. At least with typical race bikes.

RCMoeur 

In the 40+ years I've owned it, my 1972 Raleigh Professional Mk IV has gone from "you're competing on that old thing?" to "I haven't seen one of those in a while" to "wow, that's a classic." The best thing being with no real effort on my part other than hanging on to it and keeping it maintained (and having it fully chromed back in 1987 to extend the low-maintenance finish from the socks to the rest of the bike).

RCMoeur 

Comments... well, what would people comment on on my C&V bikes?

Would it be the glowing light-up tiki on the handlebars of the Chicago-forged Schwinn cruiser, or the old-school gold-anodized Super Maxy cranks on that bike? Or the Wald baskets + lowrider mounts? Or the shiny yet slightly-mismatched chain guard?

Or perhaps the 7 colors of electrician's tape covering up the scarred paint on my Ross cruiser?

Or the sprayed modernist splotches on my fixie frame?

Or the retroreflective dots and doodads on most of my other bikes?

I think you see the pattern here - it's not the C&Vness of the bikes - it's just I have absolutely no taste in how they're decorated/appointed.

(pictures of the bikes are available at the link in my .sig)

steelbikeguy

a friend did comment that my Hetchins looked like someone had run into it from behind.



Steve in Peoria

1989Pre 

I was on my Grubb on the M.U.P. a few years ago in summer, and a little girl yelled something, but I didn't catch it. Her mom said, "She wants to know if those (the bottles on my handlebars) are batteries". I told her no, they are water bottles. Good question, though!

gearbasher

I've been asked by a few young guys drafting my wheel, "what's that round thing on your right seat stay?" Then I have to tell them it's a chain hanger and I never used it. My purple Guerciotti has gotten dozens of "nice bike" comments.

bikingshearer 

Between my lugged steel frames and my wool jerseys, I regularly get positive comments from other riders. A lot of the comments come from guys (always guys) on carbon fiber saying "I have an old [name of steel frame goes here] in the garage; I should take it out" or "I used to have an old [name of steel frame goes here], it was pretty cool." If someone were to ask me if I can keep up on what I'm riding, I'd say "no, I can't" - not because of the bike but because I can't keep up. I assure people that it is not the bike that is holding the rider back. But mostly, I get nods or waves from other riders in response to my nods or waves and that's it.

The average driver could not care less what I'm riding. The vast majority around here are pretty civilized, but I could be riding the gold Colnago that was given to Pope John Paul II and they'd just keep going on about their business without a second glance. Which is okay - when it comes to drivers, blasé beats the heck out of agro or clueless.

georges1

During a MTB local trail race in 2016 ,a guy said about my Kona Kilaeua"You still ride that 29 years steel bike, I bet it must be heavy as brick" During that race I have over taken himany many time, after the race ended ,I went to him and said him"See with my 29 years old non carbon MTB with 26 inch wheels, I was faster than you on 27.5 inch wheels with a carbon frame"
During a road ride on a long distance in 2003, I was riding my1990 Raleigh Systeme U in Reynolds 753, one guy said to me "You still use downtube shifting? It is outdated" After we crossed the bridge,we went faster and accelerated the rythm, I had Campus Record Synchro II shifters and still have them on my Raleigh, I have outaccelerated and overtaken the guy as well as a pack of guys riding carbon and titanium framed bikes with 18 speeds whereas I was just riding a 14 speeds bike, after the ride finished I said to the guy"See downtube shifting is efficient,because I was able to overtake you and your friends with my old bike."Besides these two critics ,I never had any negative remarks.

iab

How does that work? But to be fair, you people also ask that too.

Frejus021 by iabisdb, on Flickr

Lattz

Our untrained are not used to oilers

squirtdad

Not strange but fun
1) was commuting on my De Rosa (now with SJX426 herd) and was drafting 2 carbon guys, full kit, bit younger than me and we hit a light...when it changed they said "we following the guy on the de rosa" so damn I had to work hard until I turned off to work (same bike got the "that is nice where did it come from" from my wife....only downside to a de rosa red

2) last weekend guy on a nice high end carbon bike passed me and called out "nice bike" about my new Kirk

Atlas Shrugged

An essential element to a race is the other parties have be aware that it is a race as well.

georges1

You are correct but it is not because one has the latest technologies or eshifting or a carbon or a titanium made bike that he will be faster than another person who is physically better prepared and who has a better level and riding an older bike.

bikingshearer 

Not really, It's called "Cat 6 racing" and the mantra is "just because they don't know it's a race doesn't mean I'm not winning."

mrv 

At the Wednesday night Dirt Church Trail ride I was asked if I’ve ever ridden modern geometry.
… what’s modern geometry?😬

ye ole RockHopper

mpetry912 

People sometimes ask "what is that black thing for ?"

/markp

MooneyBloke

I can understand. That DeRosa is just gorgeous. I'd love (but at present can't afford) a Ferrari red 55cm DeRosa with Ergo 10. Replenishing my stash of sew-ups takes priority.

MooneyBloke

A-f'in-men. I run into way too many agro drivers these days. The best thing they could do for road safety is go to the DMV and surrender their licenses.

MooneyBloke

I wonder that myself. With brake cables, it doesn't seem as if you're likely to smash the bars into the top tube as you might with a brakeless track bike.

gearbasher

Here's a comment I got, not about a C&V bike but about the C&V rider. Back in my early 50s, I was hammering along and I picked up a kid that was, maybe, in his late teens/early 20s. We started trading off pulls and did this for about an hour and a half. We slowed down and he was asking me about the mileage I did. Back then I was doing a ridiculous amount of miles. When I told him how much I rode, he said: "Man, I have to tell my grandfather about you." All I could say was: "Hey, I ain't that old!"

obrentharris 

The number of road frames I've seen with dents on the sides of the top tubes would lead me to believe that those cables don't do much to protect the bike in a crash.
Brent

obrentharris 

There was the time that the amazed single-bike rider commented to us on our tandem "Man, you guys are really good. You pedal perfectly in sync with each other!"
Brent